Looking at Trees Helps You Think!

I was giving my 5-year-old a bath the other night when she looked out the window at our vined fence and announced, “You know, Mamma, sometimes looking at trees helps you to think.” I just sat in stunned silence. What a poignant observation from a wee person. “You are right,” I encouraged. “What are you thinking about?”

Lately, there have been a lot of changes going on in my life at work. Business has been hard and I have been doing a lot of pro bono consulting for clients who haven’t been able to afford help. I struggle with this (as I have written in many past blogs). I have a need to contribute and a desire to help, but I often say “Yes” when my wallet should be saying a definitive “No!” The struggle to find quiet, unbooked time is a desired, yet currently unrealized dream.

The last few years have been such a struggle financially for so many of my clients from so many walks of life. Occasionally, I have trouble sleeping when my mind races. In the pile of books that I am currently reading are titles like So Stressed (co-written by my ob/gyn Stephanie McClellan), Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff About Moneyby Richard Carlson, Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes, and The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery, by Don Miguel and Don Jose Ruiz. Just goes to show you what’s going on in my life these days.

Worse yet, I always have the nagging voice in the back of my head that says if I don’t relax or let go or learn a better way to cope with stress, breast cancer might rear its ugly head! Wonder why I am stressed?

So when my daughter said that one sentence, I promised to spend more time in nature. It is so grounding and so healing, and what she said is so true. I have traded a few gym days for hikes in the glorious hills above my house, taking in the ocean view. When have you ever sat in a park and stared at a tree and not been more clear-headed after?

I plan on spending some time this summer here in southern California firmly planted at the base of a very old, wise tree — with my daughter of course.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suzette Lipscomb

Suzette Lipscomb has done the cancer dance twice in her young life. Originally diagnosed with an aggressive form of invasive ductal breast cancer at 36, she endured six long months of chemotherapy and then...read more

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